Click on image for full size
Image courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt (SSC-Caltech)
New planetoid named Sedna discovered
News story originally written on March 17, 2004
Astronomers have found a new object in our Solar System. The new object is
named Sedna. Astronomers are calling Sedna a "planetoid". A planetoid is
smaller than a planet but bigger than asteroids or comets.
Sedna is very far from the Sun. Pluto is the farthest planet from the Sun.
Sedna is more than twice as far away as Pluto. Sedna is 90 times as far from
the Sun as Earth!
Sedna is very, very cold because it is so far from the Sun. Sedna takes a
very long time to go around the Sun. One orbit takes
more than 10,000 years!
Sedna is so cold that scientists decided to name it after something from the
Arctic. Sedna is the name of the sea goddess in the myths of the Inuit people
who live near the North Pole.
Shop Windows to the Universe Science Store!
Our
online store includes
issues of NESTA's quarterly journal, The Earth Scientist, full of classroom activities on different topics in Earth and space science, as well as
books on science education!
You might also be interested in:
Pluto is a frigid ball of ice and rock that orbits far from the Sun on the frozen fringes of our Solar System. Considered a planet, though a rather odd one, from its discovery in 1930 until 2006, it was
...more
Do you know what a planet is? Guess what... astronomers are not quite sure what a planet is! Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars are the planets closest to the Sun. They are definitely all planets. They are
...more
There are lots of small worlds at the edge of our Solar System. They are made of ice and rock. They are further away from the Sun than most planets. They are further away than the 8th planet, Neptune.
...more
Pluto has been officially demoted from its status as a planet. The International Astronomical Union (IAU), at a meeting in August 2006, voted on their first "official" definition of a planet.
...moreAstronomers have found a new object in our Solar System. The new object is named Sedna. Astronomers are calling Sedna a "planetoid". A planetoid is smaller than a planet but bigger than asteroids or comets.
...more
A big asteroid flew by Earth. Don't worry though - it isn't going to hit us! The asteroid is named Toutatis. It didn't get too close to Earth. The closest Toutatis came to Earth was 1.5 million kilometers
...more
Scientists have been studying special places of the chilly ocean near Antarctica. They found that these places are favorite spots for thousands of penguins! Much of the ocean near Antarctica is covered
...more
